


on the death of innocent lighters

by rubiesanddiamonds



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, best tag ever, i will get round to making a playlist of this is any of you want one, indie!remus, james and lily get it aaaaaawn, remus is a pretentious indie kid, representing the indie kids, sirius desperately wishes he was a 70s biker boy, the party they're at is based on every party my year holds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-17
Updated: 2015-04-17
Packaged: 2018-03-23 11:24:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3766360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubiesanddiamonds/pseuds/rubiesanddiamonds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>two boys meet at a party after being left by their respective best friends.<br/>remus murders lighters and sirius owes peter a tenner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	on the death of innocent lighters

**Author's Note:**

> im finally posting something ??/?!1! *insert titanic gif of rose saying 'its been 72 years'*

Sirius didn't actually want to come tonight. It was James who had dragged him along after being invited by Hestia, who had only agreed on coming after hearing Lily was too.

So now Sirius was stuck at a party in a small garden with people he didn't know, playing music he didn't know, talking about things he didn't know.

All in all, not a good start to a Friday night.

James, on the other hand, was thriving - he was in the middle of a group of some kids who looked like their grandfathers had collectively died, and all of them had raided his dresser after; talking about a trip he had recently been on, over exaggerating some parts and not going into enough detail on others.

While he was usually a very social person, Sirius, adamant to not enjoy the night after being forced to come out of his own free will, stood off to the side, leant against a wall and lit a roll up.

'Can I borrow your light?' someone to his left asked. 'Mine's dead.'

Not turning to look, he handed it over. 'Don't kill mine too, alright?'

'No promises. I pride myself in being quite good at killing innocent lighters.'

He smirked. 'Least it's not people.'

'Oh, I suppose it could be people too if I really wanted.'

Snorting, he side glanced at the supposed lighter-murdering hipster he had struck up conversation with.

In the hazy dark, only short trails of fairy lights along the fencing to give any light, Sirius couldn't determine if he was good looking or not.

From what he could make out, he had a very long and sharp nose and pointed chin, thick curly hair, and was very, very tall. Sirius prided himself on his 5 foot and 11 inches, but this kid put him to shame. He was at least 6 foot, even when slouching and leaning against the wall.

He caught a glimpse of a mole under his left eye as he watched the stranger fiddle around with his lighter, sparking it before catching his roll end and inhaling.

'Thanks,' he said lightly, after another inhale.

'No problem. Thanks for not murdering it.'

'Have to say, it was quite hard not to. All these killer instincts, you know.'

They stood in silence for a while, smoking and watching the people around, not talking but in the other's company.

'I'm Sirius, by the way. I don't think I know you, but then again, I only know James, Hestia and Lily here.' He stuck out the hand that was not cradling the near-roach of his roll up.

'I'm Remus. I'm Lily's best friend and here entirely not of my own accord.' He shook the proffered hand.

'Join the club.' He gave him a short nod before dropping his hand. His fingers were long, he noticed. 'Classic case of shitty best friend dragging you places you don't want to go?'

He exhaled in amusement. 'The exact same. I think some guy she likes is here and, in her own words, needs 'moral support'.'

He looked over to his friend, still entertaining the small crowd he had amassed. 'Poor Prongs. Like he had a chance anyway.'

'Hm?' Remus asked, following Sirius' line of vision.

'My best friend, James. The only reason he's here is because he likes Lily. Poor git.' He laughed. 'Pete owes me a tenner.'

'You bet on your best mates love life?' he asked, looking at him side on.

'What kind of shitty best mate would I be if I didn't?' he retaliated.

'Fair enough,' he shrugged. 'I guess I'm a shit one too, because I don't even know which guy it was. I kind of tuned her out this morning after she told me I had to go with her tonight.'

'There's still hope yet. Hear a 'James' in there anywhere?' he asked. 'I should say I hope you did but I really want money for some more chip.'

Remus laughed quietly and stumped out his roach. 'If she comes on by I'll ask.'

There was another break in the conversation. 'Where's she now, d'y'know?'

'Haven't the slightest,' he replied. 'You'd think your friend wouldn't up and leave you stranded in a sea of people you don't really get along with, but no.'

'Thank you!' he cried in agreement. 'We, my friend, have some very terrible best friends.'

'We do.' he agreed.

\--

A few drinks later, Lily had caught hold of Remus, much to Sirius' disgruntlement. She was keeping hold of his new friend for too long.

After being pulled down into a hug, her on her tiptoes and him knees bent, she released him and let him wander back over to Sirius, already fiddling in his pocket for another smoke.

'What'd she want?' he asked as he returned to him, back at their spot by the wall. He held out his light, flame illuminating a small vicinity around the two. When Remus leant in to catch the tip, he could make out the strange, amber of his eyes.

'To tell me she's going to make her move. She's had enough drink to give her 'confidence'. Like she needs it.' He inhaled, exhaled, and Sirius caught the unmistakable whiff of weed, rather than tobacco. He raised a brow, silent question of 'are you going to share?'. He watched as Remus took another draw, then handed it over.

'Did you catch the name?' Sirius asked, after his own draw.

'Forgot to ask,' he admitted. 'Sorry.'

'No problem. I'll just have to prepare for a heartbroken James tomorrow, and be pleasantly surprised if he's not.' He took another draw, then passed it back. Remus smiled appreciatively.

'Optimistic look on pessimism,' he commented, exhaling through his nose.

'I like to call it 'optimistic look on realism',' he corrected.

'You're quite mean about James, you know,' he observed, blowing a fairly decent smoke ring, before passing it to Sirius' waiting hand.

'Only what he deserves. Bastard's ego is bigger than his hair.' He took a draw, 'and his hair is big.'

Remus shrugged. 'Who takes you down a peg, then?'

'What?' he asked.

'Who's there to deflate your ego?' Remus asked, taking back the joint. It was half burnt out.

'Are you insinuating that I, Sirius black, have a big ego?' he asked in faux shock.

Remus smirked around the joint. 'Wouldn't dream of it.'

'Bastard,' he said affectionately.

He decided, in his slightly intoxicated state, that he really liked the strange looking giant, who, after being inside to get alcohol, and consequently, in the light, had made up his mind that he was indeed, very attractive.

He thought it seemed fit to tell him so.

'You know you're actually pretty cool. Thanks for killing your light and asking to borrow mine,' Sirius said, after trying and failing to imitate Remus' smoke rings.

'...You're welcome?' Remus replied, frowning slightly.

'That sounded weird.' Sirius corrected. 'Meant, I'm glad you spoke to me. You're cool.' He realised he had repeated that. Remus motioned for the roach. He handed it over and watched in fascination as he finished it cleanly, not burning either his fingers or lips.

'Thanks for lending me your light and keeping the conversation going,' he said after stubbing out the joint. 'I'm not very good at that.'

'It was either that or try and pry James from his fan base, or go and find Hestia and ask her to play some music I actually know,' he said frankly.

Remus laughed lightly. 'I forgot. You go don't go here, do you?'

'Hm?' Sirius asked, raising brows.

'Our school. You go to that fancy all boys board down the road, don't you?' he asked.

'Yeah,' Sirius said. 'Why?'

'Kids in our school would kill you for not even knowing Bleached,' he said lightly. 'Don't tell them you didn't recognise 'You Take Time'.'

'It's okay, you can protect me. I'm sure your indie points rack up higher than this lot.' He waved a hand vaguely at the crowd around them.

'I'll protect you with my all consuming indie-ness?' he asked, grinning lopsidedly.

Sirius grinned in return. Yes, this kid was very attractive. 'Yes.'

'So what do you listen to, then?' Remus asked after a while. The two had pulled up folding chairs after their second joint, not trusting the sinking feeling in their legs.

Sirius frowned. 'I feel like I am about to be judged.'

'You would be correct.'

Sirius glared playfully. 'I don't know. I like Jeff the Brotherhood, I guess. Buzzcocks, The Clash, Rolling Stones... that sort of music? I listen to Bowie a lot too. Prongs gives me shit for it, but I've caught him singing along to ABBA, so he can fuck himself.'

'Better than I expected.' Remus nodded approvingly.

'What did you have me pinned as?' he asked, curious.

'I don't know... I thought more along the lines of The Wombats. Maybe Peace. Arctic Monkeys, but their 'Humbug' era. Maybe 'Suck it and See' too,' he speculated.

'I don't mind them, if that's what you want me to say,' he said amicably.

'Stick to your seventies, I'll tolerate you then,' he teased.

'Go on then, indie boy. Enlighten me with your bands no one has heard of.'

Remus snorted. 'Trying to think who you may know,' he said. 'The Garden?'

Sirius blinked.

'Dead Ghosts?' he tried again.

Another blink.

'The Jesus and Mary Chain?'

'The Smiths,' he sighed.

'Them I know.' he stated proudly.

'Congrats,' he said sarcastically.

'See? How are you indie when I know your music?' he asked. 'Zero indie points for you.'

'My rep is ruined,' Remus agreed.

'Fucking vanished.'

'Poof.'

A lazy smile was shared between the two.

'Follow my spotify, I'll show you some good music. You wannabe seventies biker.'

'That sounds like a challenge.'

'It is.'

\--

'What time is it?' Remus asked a while later.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. 'Already bored of me?'

'No, I want to know if I can light another joint and not go home red-eyed.'

'Thought everyone was staying over?' Sirius asked. That's what James had told him, at least.

'I'm in charge of getting Lily home. She's out early tomorrow morning so she has to leave, and I don't want her going home by herself.'

'You sound like a parent,' he teased.

'Hush,' he responded, though with no bite. 'Time?'

'Just 'bout to hit midnight. What time are you thinking of leaving?' he asked.

''Round one,' he answered. 'I need to find her in a bit.'

'You're fine,' he assured him. 'I'm sure someone has eye drops around here, anyway.'

'I have them, but I don't like them,' he complained.

'Don't be a baby.'

He raised a brow. 'Do you want my weed or not?'

'I'm the one with the lighter here, Mr. Sass.' Sirius had since had two more cans of beer, and was probably on the border of hitting his limit. He thought about stars under Remus' skin and galaxies in his eyes. He really was pretty.

He took the light from his outstretched hand. 'You going home with James?'

He lit the joint as Sirius spoke. 'Yeah. We're going to have a lovely long walk back to the fucking castle that is our school and throw rocks into our open window in the hopes we hit our mutual friend Peter so he can throw down the rope ladder and let us in.'

'You have a rope ladder?' he asked, inhaling and blowing out smoke rings. Sirius was sure he was just showing off, now.

'You don't?' he retaliated.

'Never found the need for one, if I must say,' he said placidly, passing the joint.

'When you live in a school and the entrance doors are locked at 9pm each night, you find ways to get in and out. We stole it from the caretaker in like, our second year,' he recalled fondly. 'What an awful bastard he is.'

'Very creative.' Remus complimented. 'Not that I condone theft.'

'Yet you condone recreational drug use?' he teased, passing it back.

'Exactly,' he said, taking a long draw.

\--

Remus held up his phone, and pressed the lock button. A black and white photo of some men Sirius didn't recognise, and the time, reading '00:37', appeared.

Remus squinted at it, light hurting his eyes. 'It's on the lowest brightness setting as well. It's out to blind me.' He pressed the lock button again, and the screen faded to black. 'Well, I ought to go find Lily and let her know we best be making a move.'

Sirius felt something drop a bit in his stomach. He didn't want Remus to leave quite yet. Not without the confirmation he'd be able to see him again.

'Need help finding James?' he asked, getting to his feet.

'Uh, yeah, thanks,' he said, pushing himself up.

'No problem,' he said, turning and walking towards the crowds.

There were a few people, like the two, who had gone off into small groups, sitting and standing in circles, passing joints or playing stupid drinking games they were already too drunk for.

A few had paired off, viciously groping and kissing the other. He squinted, searching in the darkness for a tall and dark boy with glasses and an afro. It was proving a more difficult task than he first thought.

He wasn't with the crowd he had been a few hours prior, nor could he be seen milling around with the other kids. Remus was still in front of him, wandering around, looking for a bright head of ginger, to no such luck.

After making a lap of the garden, they found the other again and tried inside.

More couples were there in the sitting room, curled up on the couch, under blankets and pretending to watch something on the TV, too close to have anything innocent going on underneath the covers.

In the kitchen, a group of kids sat around the oven were trying to cook a pizza from frozen, while another ate peanut butter out of the jar with a spoon. Sirius felt his stomach give a pang of hunger. He reminded himself to ask James if they could stop off at the Papa John's on the way back to school.

'No luck,' Remus sighed, returning back from the downstairs bathroom. 'You?'

'Nope. Ring her?' he asked

'Doubt she'll answer,' he said, but got his phone out all the same. He held it to his ear for a while, and several rings, looked like he was about to hang up, before she picked up at the last ring.

'Hello?' her tinny voice came through the phone. She sounded breathless. 'Rem, this isn't the best of times. Really. This is literally the worst time to ring me, ever.'

'Sorry, but we should be leaving around now,' he said patiently. 'It's five to one.'

There was quiet, just the sound of heavy breathing, then 'shit!'

'You okay?' he asked.

'...Yeah?' she replied, hesitantly. There was the sound of someone else laughing in the background, and her 'shhhing' them through her own laughter.

'Lils, where are you?' he asked tiredly.

'Upstairs. Give me a moment, I'll be down by the door,' she said quickly. 'Love you.'

'Love you too,' he returned. 'See you in a sec.'

He hung up, and slid his phone into his back pocket.

'I think I just called her in the middle of sex. I can't ever get this image out of my head.'

'There are worse things to imagine,' he reasoned. A multitude of disturbing images flooded the forefront of his mind. He thought it best not to voice them.

'She's my best friend. I don't want to imagine her naked. I don't want to imagine any girl naked.' He stretched, a strip of skin above his waistband visible, and made for the kitchen door, not checking to see if Sirius would follow.

'Still haven't found James,' he said from behind him.

'What if he's the one she was shagging?' he asked.

'I don't want to imagine Prongs naked. I've seen it in the flesh. I had to pour bleach into my brain to stop the nightmares.'

'Bit dramatic,' he commented mildly. His arms were still folded above his head, his skin still visible. Sirius wanted to touch him.

'I am a bit dramatic.' He replied.

'So I've gathered,' he said, leaning back against the door, looking up the staircase.

Sirius leaned on the wall next to him, eyes on his profile.

The overhead lamps were dim. Remus' hair was golden where the light caught, and dirty brown where it didn't. The shadow cast by his eyelashes over his cheeks made them look longer and darker than they were. When he squinted, he could make out the mole under his eye he had picked up in before, as well as the freckles he had lining his cheeks and nose, that he hadn't. They were lighter than the mole, golden brown rather than dark.

Sirius very much wanted to kiss him. It was strange, he thought. He wasn't one to want to kiss strangers. He liked to know and trust the person before he kissed them. Yet he really, really wanted to kiss Remus.

He didn't know how long he had leant there, staring at his face, but in that time, Remus had turned and matched it.

He didn't know what Remus was searching for in his face. He didn't have little beauty spots and moles and freckles dotted over his skin in constellations like he did. He didn't have whiskey amber eyes that swirled and clouded like nebula like he did. He didn't have the universe contained in his skinny frame like he did.

He could feel himself leaning forward before he actually registered he was moving.

Then he was up close to the beauty marks and freckles and galaxy amber eyes and then his lips were on his and his mind went blank.

He imagined constellations impressing on his skin as he ran his hands up Remus' arms and through his curls. He bit back a moan as Remus wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him closer yet.

All he could feel was fire running through his veins and Remus' long fingered hands clawing at his back, his soft curls in his grasp and the strain in his calves due to being on tiptoes for so long.

A soft clearing of throat jolted Remus and made the two pull back like someone had simultaneously electrocuted them.

Lily stood, hair a mess and cheeks rosy, grinning at them. James was behind her, looking equally as disheveled.

'You two ready to leave, then?'

James winked at him.

\--

The next morning, waking up with a terrific headache and finding he had fallen asleep in the clothes he had worn out last night, he shuffled his way to the shared bathroom the boys in his dorm used.

Turning on the shower and shucking off his shirt, he shoved his hands into his pockets in order to get out anything important, and found, other than a few rocks and coppers, a ripped strip of paper.

He pulled it out, and felt the weight in his stomach lift.

_Call me, wannabe seventies biker. I'll get you to listen to all my indie music._

_\- 07856783234_

_P.S. You also owe Peter a tenner._

**Author's Note:**

> indie!remus gives me life
> 
> NOW WITH PLAYLIST?//!! (wip) https://open.spotify.com/user/seven%2Ccamel/playlist/3vLyphzjUFZEFyMtbQjpsf


End file.
